


Winter Spirits

by Detectives_Heart



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4 Arena - Fandom, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax - Fandom
Genre: Ghosts, I proofread this at 2:30am bare with, two dumbasses go on a trip look at em go, uhhhh wintery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:46:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28329210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Detectives_Heart/pseuds/Detectives_Heart
Summary: Labrys and Koromaru decide that Mitsuru's story of the ghosts on the lake is worth investigating and decide they're the ones that going to finally see them.
Relationships: Labrys & Koromaru
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	Winter Spirits

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if anyone's OOC I'm not as familiar with P3 as I could be

“Well, I have a story you might like.” Mitsuru spoke up, giving Junpei a break from Labrys’ pestering for another story with a smile. The group had gotten together to stay at Mitsuru’s holiday home on Yakushima for the winter like old times and after a day of activities, they’d settled down by the fire to share some stories with each other. Junpei had been the one to start on the spooky stories and the whole thing had spiralled from there.

“Ya do?” She tilted her head curiously, eyes wide in wonder.

“I do.” Mitsuru nodded and looked as if she were going to say more had Yukari not interrupted.

“Oh yeah, Labrys doesn’t know your story yet, huh?” She shook her head before turning to Labrys. “We hear this same story every year, I guess it’s only fair you get to hear it too.” She smiled, “Come on then. What’s one more time, right?”

“Well, legend has it that on the longest night of winter, when the moon is at its highest, and the world is silent as snow, the spirits of the past come down from the sky...” Labrys’ eyes widened as she leaned in closer. “They float down from the stars and sing and dance on the surface of a lake on this very island.”

“Wh- they can do that?” Mitsuru chuckled at her surprise with a nod.

“They can. They laugh and they play together on this lake, like they never could before their time.”

“Woah… Can we go see them? On the lake?” An excitement bubbled up inside her. Surely they can go see them, right?

“Nope. Don’t even try.” Junpei answered for her with a slightly irritated shake of the head.

“The lake is hidden somewhere in the forest. To see the spirits, you’d have to first find the lake.” Mitsuru explained before she could even ask.

“Why can’t we just go find it?” This time, Aigis answered.

“We _have_ gone looking for the lake a few times before, sister. Unfortunately, we never found it.” She seemed apologetic as she continued, “I have doubts this lake even exists at all.”

“There’s no way it exists! We searched all over the place and didn’t find anything but a river!” Akihiko spoke up with a huff. Knowing him, he’d refused to give up looking and gotten himself into trouble a few times or something.

“Really?” Her head tilted the other way.

“Finding it is only half the problem too.” Fuuka turned back to Mitsuru, “How does the rest go again?”

“They say that even if you _were_ to find this hidden lake, they may not appear to you.”

“Why not?”

“That’s not the interesting question here. The real question is, what makes the spirits return to the sky after only such a short time?” Labrys thought on that for a moment before giving her a puzzled look.

“I don’t get it.” Ken smiled at her and picked up where she left off.

“What she means is, what could possibly be scary enough to scare the spirits back into the sky?” Koromaru barked a few times with him. Labrys hummed thoughtfully.

“Ya mean like a monster or somethin’?”

“Who knows? We’ve never seen it.” Junpei shrugged. “And we probably never will.”

“Aw don’t be like that! Maybe if we go lookin’ for it-”

“Oh-ho no. No, no, no, no. We are _not_ doing that again.” He shook his head vigorously, shutting that idea down as soon as possible.

“Yeah, sorry, Labrys. We’ve looked everywhere already and there’s no lake.” Yukari gave her an apologetic smile but Mitsuru just crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.

“It sounds to me like you’re all just upset you never got to see the spirits.” She said, earning an eye roll from most of the others.

“You keep saying that, but I’m pretty sure you’ve never seen it either.” Fuuka gave her a tired look. Mitsuru didn’t answer her and instead turned her attention back to Labrys.

“Regardless, what’s to say that it _is_ all just a fairy tale? Perhaps we just missed it when we went looking for it.”

“What? There’s no way! We searched high and low for that thing three years in a row!” Junpei waved his hands exaggeratedly.

“Metaphorically speaking, I’m sure we were merely chasing shadows.” Aigis’ eyes wandered to the window as she said that, obviously having done her best to find it as well.

“Shadows?” She parroted earning another shake of the head.

“Well, I think that’s enough for one night. I’m gonna call it a day.” Yukari spoke after a moment of silence and a yawn.

“Same. It’s pretty late after all.” Junpei stretched and Labrys watched as everyone else made similar agreements. She zoned out after a little bit, thoughtfully watching the roaring fire. What if she could find the lake? Would she see the spirits? Would they let her dance with them? What did spirits even look like?

“Are you coming, sister?” Aigis’ voice drew her attention and she hummed as her gaze flickered over to her. “I take it you like Mitsuru-san’s story?”

“What if it _is_ real though? What if you guys really _did_ just miss it when you were lookin’ for it?”

“Who’s to say? You might be right, sister.” Labrys jumped to her feet at that.

“Well, why don’t we go check? Just one more time, come on!” Excitement bubbled again as she raced past Aigis to the window. “If we leave now, we could probably find it before midnight!”

“Sister…”

“Maybe we could dance with them! Wouldn’t that be amazin’? Whaddya think spirits even look like anyway?”

“Sister.” Aigis placed a hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention.

“We can go look for it, right?” A shake of the head. “Wh- why not? Dontcha wanna see ‘em?”

“I would love to see the spirits, sister, but I have to agree with the others. The lake simply doesn’t exist.” She spoke sadly, trying to burst her bubble gently but making her visibly deflate anyway. “I’m sorry, sister. I’m afraid it’s just a story.”

“Oh…” It was disappointing to say the least.

“Don’t be too upset about it, sister. You still have our baseball game tomorrow to look forward too, remember?”

“Yeah… yeah I do.” She perked up a bit, trying to shake the story off before following Aigis up the stairs to their shared room. Maybe she could dream of the ghosts instead…

~~~~~~

Labrys stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep despite how heavy the charger in her wrist made her eyelids feel. There _had_ to be _some_ truth in the story… right? It can’t have _all_ just been made up, right?

Just cause everyone _else_ couldn’t find it, doesn’t mean _she_ couldn’t…

She knew she shouldn’t go but she just couldn’t shake the questions away. Was it real? Was everyone else right to just dismiss it as a story? No matter the answer, it didn’t take a genius to figure out she wasn’t getting any sleep tonight, at least without _some_ answers.

Maybe if she just went out for a _little_ bit, she could be back before anyone noticed…

Shaking her head, she huffed as she roughly pulled the cables out of her arm and as quietly as possible, leapt to her feet. Carefully, so as not to wake Aigis, she snuck through the door and down the hall and stairs. Wandering over to the window, she gazed out at the darkness beyond. Out there, there was a hidden lake just waiting to be found, she was _sure_ of it.

Would it be bad to go and find it by herself though?

“Arf?” Labrys glanced behind her at the hushed bark from Koromaru as he sat at the bottom of the stairs, his head tilted. When did he get there?

“Hey, Koro-chan. What are _you_ doin’ up?” He wagged his tail and trotted over with another little bark. “I woke ya up? Aw, sorry ‘bout that. I thought I’d been pretty quiet but I guess not…” Turning her attention back to the window she voiced a few of her questions to him. “Do ya think I’d get in too much trouble if I went to go find that lake? It’s real, ain’t it?” Koromaru whined, unsure about the answers before his ears pricked and he bounced towards the door.

“Arf, arf!”

“Wh- you’ll come with me?” Labrys felt herself stand up straighter at the thought that she wouldn’t be alone in exploring the forest. He barked in confirmation, nuzzling her coat that hung alongside the others’. Without any more hesitation, she grinned from ear to ear as she hurried to put her coat on and wrap her yellow scarf around her neck.

“Where do you think _you’re_ going?” Labrys froze, hand on the door handle at that stern voice. After a moment of silence, she slowly turned to sheepishly face the speaker.

“U-uh…” She stuttered under Mitsuru’s authoritive gaze. She chanced a glimpse at Koromaru who looked just as spooked as she did. “W-we were, uhh…”

“Going to bed?” She raised a sharp eyebrow at them. “Or…” she trailed for a moment, “were you going to go looking for the lake?”

“Uh… which one would upset ya the _least_?” Mitsuru stared her down for a few moments before suddenly smiling and shaking her head in amusement.

“I suppose I’m in no position to stop you. Though, I would appreciate it if you would let someone know before you disappear in the future.” Labrys recoiled at that.

“Wh- wait, you’re _not_ gonna tell us to go back to bed or somethin’?” She chuckled this time and waved her hand dismissively.

“Of course not. It would be rather hypocritical of me to do so.” Before she could ask about that, she continued, “well, I wouldn’t want to keep you. The moon will be at its highest soon after all. Just don’t stay out _all_ night.” Labrys blinked owlishly as Mitsuru continued on her path towards the kitchen for whatever reason. How were they getting the go ahead for this…?

Shaking her head, she pushed the reasoning aside before the excitement returned and she quickly turned back to the door with Koromaru. The moment the door quietly clicked shut behind them, they wasted no time in racing down the path and straight into the forest.

* * *

Labrys almost wished they’d brought a torch with them to find the lake. It’d been a few hours now and they still hadn’t found it, though they’d long since lost track of the time anyway. Luckily for them, the moon was aglow tonight, lighting up the forest through the gaps in the trees with its silvery light. It dappled the underbrush they ran through almost like the stars beneath the trees. Their breaths made the air misty as they searched, Koromaru running ahead and sniffing for any sign of the lake and Labrys diligently keeping an eye out, pulling branches out of way and occasionally climbing the trees to look for large clearings.

“See anythin’ yet Koro-chan?!” She called down from above, having climbed high into a strong looking tree.

“Arf arf!” Koromaru called back, apparently having found nothing.

“Darn…” She mumbled as she stared out at the treetops from her vantage point. Why couldn’t she see anything? Surely if there was a big lake here somewhere, the lack of trees there would give it away?

Was it just smaller than she thought it was…? Hmm…

Just as she was about to climb back down, something drew her attention to a spot in the distance. Was that a gap in the trees…?

Just as she was thinking that, a sickening creak made her freeze in place, her face falling in dread. Slowly, she turned her face to glance at the branch she was standing on, the wood splintering under her weight. Before she could even begin to shift her weight off of it, the wood gave way, dropping her from its height.

She cried out in alarm as she fell, missing another branch she’d reached for by mere inches. Landing heavily in the underbrush and likely crushing it beyond repair, she didn’t move for a minute or two to let her mind catch up and a quick scan to run. Staring up at the stars between the moonlit leaves, her view was suddenly disrupted by the concerned fluffy face of her friend. He whined, asking if she was okay, to which she smiled and reached to pet him.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Barely felt a thing.” He gave her another whine to tell her he didn’t believe that for a second. “Okay, okay, it sorta hurt but its fine, see? Not a scratch on me!” He licked her face for good measure and she giggled in response. His eyes suddenly seemed to latch onto something, his ears perking up as he barked at it.

Labrys hummed as she sat up to see what the fuss was about, eyes narrowing on the strange gap in forest floor. It was tall, mostly covered by the foliage she’d crushed when she’d fallen and definitely wasn’t made by any animal she knew of. It dipped down under the ground, slopping flat enough for them to walk through it should they both want to. They glanced at each other as the wind whistled past them.

Koromaru’s tail started wagging as she grinned, the pair of them both simultaneously jumping at the chance to explore. He went in first, merrily barking as she laughed at the echo and eagerly followed.

The further the tunnel went, the darker it seemed to get. Labrys had to trail her hand along the wall while she was pretty sure Koromaru had moved to her side so he could brush his tail against her to know where she was and not get seperated. With no light and no end in sight, her nerves started to rise. She didn’t like the dark…

Koromaru whined after a while, the sound bouncing back at them a little through the dirt and stone tunnel. That was a good idea actually. If they kept talking or making noise, it might make it less daunting…

Without much more thought, she found herself humming an old song she’d heard someone playing a while back. The tapping of Koromaru’s claws on the floor gradually changed from his usually, rhythmic walking to something that better matched her song, the pace clumsily speeding up and slowing down before matching her chosen melody.

Her heart felt warm at that. There was something so… happy and joyful about two friends making music together while they explored the unknown. Labrys felt a smile pull at her lips, her song getting louder and more confident with every step.

So lost in their beat, they hardly notice the slow, gradual lightening of the tunnel until the light funnelling through was bright enough for the two of them to see each other. Their pace quickened, the two of them eager to see the end of the darkness and what lay at the end of this place.

The moment they reached the end of the tunnel, they stopped, rooted to the spot as they stared at the sight before them.

The tunnel opened out into a large, spherical cavern, made of stone mixed with thick tree roots. A huge, gaping hole in the ceiling let the brilliant moonlight shine through and reflect off the crystalline waters of the lake they’d been searching for this whole time.

“We did it…” Labrys murmured in awe as they took in the sight of the sparkling lake, the light that reached its edges dappled by the trees that lined the edge of the hole above it. Carefully, the two of them made their way down from the tunnel exit, before stopping once more. The two stood in the shadow of a cluster of stalagmites watching the waves with fascination.

It shifted and glowed before falling still, the surface as silver as the stars. Labrys gasped, drawing Koromaru’s attention to what had caught her eye in the sky. The mood shone brighter than ever, perfectly centred over the lake. The stars suddenly seemed to move, unnoticeably at first but quickly speeding up so they glided towards the moon seamlessly.

There was a white flash she almost wasn’t sure she’d really seen, the stars seeming bigger all of a sudden. They blinked at her and she at them.

Like a character jumping out from a painting, figures began to descend from the shapes the stars lined up to create. Arms, legs, faces, all appearing in the ghostly silhouettes as they flew down from the sky and through the hole in the ceiling. They glittered and sparkled like nothing they’d ever seen before. Brighter than diamonds and glistening like fireworks, they descended onto the lake, tiptoeing onto its surface and smiling as the water gently rippled with their footsteps.

One after the other gracefully touched down onto the lake, slow and steady. The first few, on their toes spun around like ballerinas, waving their arms in a silent dance that left their spectators mesmerised. Swirls and strands of light left their fingertips, soaring through the air to be absorbed into the walls of the cavern, allowing pictures to appear in them like beautiful cave drawings of glowing pinks and blues and purples. They showed snowflakes, dogs, leaves, trees, butterflies, birds, anything and everything all woven together to chase the shadows of the cavern away.

More of the figures began to appear then. More and more of them merrily drifting down from the stars and joining those that danced on the lake, the whispering few becoming the whistling many. Their song now reaching their ears, beautiful and melodic, unlike anything they’d ever heard before.

Koromaru suddenly jumped, pressing closer to her leg and drawing her attention. Spirits bounded out from the tunnel they’d just came in from, laughing and singing with all the glee of small children on their birthdays.

Children…

Labrys blinked before realising why that thought stuck out to her. So many of them were children. Of all ages from toddlers to young teens. Scars littered their bodies that she could just see poking out from their clothing, some of them looking as though they should be causing more pain than they were but none of them seem bothered at all by them. Instead, they laughed and sang and played, prancing past them and dancing onto the lake with brilliant smiles on their faces.

But there were others. They weren’t adults by any means but… if her heart could beat it would have stopped once one of them drew close enough for her to make out what was so different about them. Tears prickled at the edges of her vision, refusing to fall as she watched them play, as carefree as she’d always hoped they would be.

The anti-shadow weapons. Her _sisters._ The ones she’d fought and the ones she’d never seen before. Both the clunkier looking past generations, with little horns on their headbands and bulky, boot-like lower legs and the sleeker, shorter haired and more compact generations that came after her. Their eyes shone bright with a light she’d never thought she’d ever see in anyone but Aigis, and that was robbed from all of them the moment they woke up in their laboratories.

They were _happy_ now…

Dancing on the lake like they never could before.

She’d never seen anything more beautiful in her life…

A soft whine from Koromaru made her glance at him. He looked up at her, before turning his gaze back towards the lake, at a little boy who’d noticed them amongst the other spirits. He met her ruby gaze with his crystalline eyes, as curious as anything. He glanced around at the others before looking back at them and smiling with a wave.

Without thinking, she smiled, teary eyed as she waved back, Koromaru waving his paw up and down as best he could as well. The boy laughed before vanishing into the crowd of ghosts.

The two stood there, unsure what to do other than watch in amazement. A few moments later and the little boy returned to view, his hand holding onto another’s.

She was about a head taller than Labrys, with her silvery green hair tied up in a bun, and with brilliant ruby eyes the likes of which she could never forget. The moment their eyes met, it was like the rest of the world stopped moving. She was just like she remembered…

024 smiled brighter than all the spirits around her. She let go of the boys hand and extended it towards her, silently willing her to take it. Slowly, Labrys took a step towards her. Then another, followed by another, quickening her pace until she was almost sprinting towards her. She skidded to a stop at the lake’s edge, her self-preservation kicking in long enough to save her from its chill. She glanced between the water and her kind face repeatedly in dismay.

She can’t walk on water like her…

024 seemed to giggle a little. She offered her other hand as well, an encouraging smile that Labrys just couldn’t help but trust. Taking a deep breath, she squeezed her eyes shut to brace herself and took that first step…

Her foot met resistance, a _surface_. Blinking her eyes open again she watched the surface of the lake ripple from where her foot had made contact. It felt like ice with a thin layer of water on top but her sensors told her it wasn’t ice at all. They told her there was nothing there but there _must_ be…

A small laugh at her awestruck expression and her focus returned, her eyes finding hers once more and the tears returning. Without another moment’s hesitation, she took her chance. Labrys bypassed the outstretched hands, tackling her beloved, ethereal sister in a tight hug. 024 wrapped her arms around her as well, holding her close as she cried.

A calming, soothing warmth radiated from the friend that she’d missed so badly for so very long now. She was here now. On the hidden lake, in the hidden cave. With _her_ again.

A concoction of grief and joy was washed out through her tears. 024 never said a word. All she had to do was be there. As the spirits sang and danced around them, and her sobs began to soften and calm, she spoke the words she never could before.

“I love ya, sis.”

“I love you too, Labrys.” She whispered the name she’d never been able to use before. A peace rose from within her like a fire that’d finally been calmed. The raging bull she thought had eased with her shadow was allowed to rest in this one moment at long last.

The song the spirits were singing wove itself back into her mind and she chanced a peak from where she’d buried her face into 024’s chest. Back at the water’s edge, she watched as Koromaru cautiously took his first steps onto the lake. He shook his paw out when the water touched it before taking a few tentative steps out. He looked up at them, seemingly a little nervous about this and honestly she couldn’t blame him.

“It’s okay. You’ll be fine.” 024 reassured him and Labrys didn’t need to see her face to know she was smiling. He looked at Labrys for confirmation to which she gave with a firm nod. Gaining a little more confidence, he slowly approached them.

“Arf arf!” He barked at them as he got closer and she had the great pleasure of answering his question.

“This is my big sis 02-”

“Phaedra.” 024 interrupted. Labrys pulled away just enough to give her a questioning look. “I chose to give myself a name like many others here have. I believe it was originally the children who refused to let us be known only by numbers that weren’t even unique to us.” She explained, earning a wonderstruck smile in response.

“Phaedra…” She murmured. It suited her, it _really_ suited her. Turning back to Koromaru she beamed at him and resumed her introduction, “This is my big sis, _Phaedra._ ” She’d never been prouder in all her days, a giddiness in her heart from finally knowing that she was no longer the named among the nameless. Koromaru wagged his tail and barked happily for her.

024- no, _Phaedra_ unwrapped an arm from around her and instead reached it out towards Koromaru. He reached up to nuzzle his head against her hand in greeting.

“And who is this?” She asked, Labrys realising she’d yet to introduce the friend she’d came here with.

“Oh, right! This is Koromaru-chan.” _Phaedra_ nodded happily as she scratched him behind the ears.

“It’s very nice to meet you Koro-chan.” She seemed thrilled to speak to a dog again after oh so long. Koromaru gave a little arf, earning a giggle from her. “You seem like a very good boy as well.” His eyes glittered and his tail wagged harder. Here in this moment, everything was right in the world.

Phaedra slowly pulled away from Labrys a little more, only to be pulled back again. She gave Labrys one more tight hug before trying again, this time with a little more success. Gently, she wiped the leftover tears away with the kind smile she’d missed so much. Without another word, she stepped back, hand running down her coat clad arms before stopping at her wrists where she promptly took her hands as she walked backwards.

“Shall we?” She asked, head tilted to one side and eyes flicking to the spirits that danced and played around them. Her voice so full of excitement Labrys would never dream of turning her down.

Koromaru watched with a wagging tail as the two of them joined the ghosts’ dance, Labrys clumsily trying to keep up and Phaedra cheerfully encouraging her every step of the way. He would join them later if he could. For now, he was content to watch their happiness from the side lines.

His ear twitched at the sound of anxious shuffling nearby. Glancing around, his gaze landed on the little boy from earlier, green eyes going wide at being noticed so quickly. Koromaru barked at him as he bowed and wagged is tail, hoping to entice him over. The boy beamed excitedly before running towards him to pet him.

The boy called out to a few others who cautiously approached him as well. He sat back and dipped his head for them, nuzzling their hands when they built up the courage to pat his head. A few of them smiled whilst he gently licked the scars he could see on their arms, while others just watched him sadly, assuring him he doesn’t need to do that anymore.

“Will you play with us doggy?” One of the much younger kids asked, tugging on his orange hoodie hopefully. He barked happily in response, standing up and wagging his tail. A few of the kids ran away as another tapped him and shouted, “Tag! You’re it!” and the game had begun.

Koromaru chased the children of so many ages, letting them get away whilst he played his part as the scary monster. They laughed so cheerfully he almost forgot he was meant to be playing with the spirits the likes of which are usually only ever heard of in Junpei’s spooky stories that Yukari hated so much. He barked, and chased, and slid across the lake, more and more joining them as time went on, their laughter almost overpowering the melodic singing of the others.

He’d just let another kid get away from him when he stopped. There, off to the side one of the children sat against a stalagmite watching with eyes full of tears. Koromaru trotted over to her, slowing down as he approached so as not to scare her. She looked up as he got closer with a hum before she gasped in shock.

“A d-dog?” She stammered, amazed as he perked his ears and tail up to seem friendlier. He sat beside her, knowing that if she was upset, it would only be a matter of time. Humans didn’t need much he’d found, so he would ask for nothing. She reached out, gently stroking his fur as he leaned into the touch. He got a weak smile from her before the wait began.

As they sat together, his eyes gazed out over the lake, landing on Labrys and Phaedra. His tail wagged a little harder at the sight of his friend with such a purely happy smile on her face. Their dancing had turned into the two of them trying to kick water at each other from the lake, their laughter audible even from here.

“You’re probably wonderin’ why I’m not with the others huh…” The girl spoke up after a while. “I just don’t know how they do it. How did they make friends after everything?” Koromaru tilted his head at her. She put one hand on her heart and the other to the side of her head. “You can’t even hear her, can you?” With that alone, he understood just who these children were.

Everyone here was part of the experiments performed on this island. All of them.

Knowing that, he leaned towards her, licking her tears away and nuzzling her scarred face. She hugged him close, clinging to him the best she could.

“At least _you’ll_ be my friend…” Koromaru barked with a wag of his tail, waiting for a little while before jumping away from her and bowing again. When she didn’t move, he gently tugged on her shirt to let her know what he wanted. “Whoah! O-okay, where are we going?” She asked as she finally got the hint and started following him.

He barked at the kids he’d been playing with earlier, the group looking thrilled to see him again. They looked at the girl beside him and almost immediately welcomed her into the group, swapping names with her and asking her to play their games them. She didn’t seem to know what to do.

He stayed by her side, supporting her through it all until the next game had started and he was once again chasing them all across the lake with gusto.

She ran away with a laugh and a smile and that was enough for him.

* * *

Labrys couldn’t stop smiling even as she was pulled over by Phaedra onto the lake’s surface. She laughed with her as she batted the surface water at her in retaliation. Phaedra smiled so brightly, no longer marred by the sorrow of the past and it was amazing. She couldn’t have wished for anything more.

Phaedra reached up with one hand to rest it on Labrys’ face, looking her in the eyes like it was the last time she’d ever get the chance and Labrys returned the favour. She rubbed her thumb over her cheek with the kindest, softest smile she knew she would ever see before a sadness wove its way in.

“It’s time.” Labrys blinked, her face falling a little.

“Whaddya mean?” Phaedra slowly sat up and opened her arms out to her. Without thinking, she took the offer and hugged her close, letting her do the same. Labrys rested her head on her shoulder, ruby eyes watching as the dances began to slow, the shadows cast by the stalagmites seeming to grow darker.

“Do you remember… when you asked me what colour the sky was in the daytime?” Labrys hummed as fingers softly brushed over her head in such a comforting way it was hard not to relax into the touch more than she already was.

“Yeah… Ya said it might be white with a black sun and I said it should be bright red like your eyes.” She mumbled in response and she felt Phaedra nod a little.

“That’s right.” She paused for a few moments. “And do you remember all the strange songs the engineers’ phones made?”

“Mhm. I got a phone that makes funny noises like that now too. I set it to ya favourite…” Phaedra held on tighter.

“Do you remember Snowy? And the promise you fulfilled for me?” A fog had started to settle on her mind, only just picking up on the slight desperation in her tone.

“O’ course… Snowy lives at the old lab where… where it all…” She nuzzled her face into Phaedra’s shoulder. “I was too late for her.” She answered the second question instead.

“I know. And that’s okay. You did more than I ever could.” She could hear the sorrowful smile in her voice. “Thank you.” Her eyes felt heavy and she hummed again.

“Mm what for?” She got a small chuckle for that.

“Everything.” Something dark moved in her peripheral but she paid it no mind. She was comfy here, with her _sister._

“I should be thankin’ _you_. I love ya, ya know.” She mumbled, a warm heaviness settling over her.

“I _do_ know.” Her grip tightened again. “And I love you too.” A silence fell over the pair, only the melodic song of the spirits around them to fill the space.

“Never forget. Promise me.” Phaedra spoke up after a while, waking her up a bit.

“I’ll never forget any of it. I promise.” Her grip eased at little, the tension draining out of her ethereal body at that confirmation. “Ya won’t forget _me_ will ya? Or Snowy, or Koromaru?”

“Of course not.” She answered softly with just as much feeling. “I could _never_ forget you, Labrys.” Labrys felt a yawn rip through her, despite her lack of a real need to do so.

“Good…” She trailed, earning a small chuckle in response.

“It really is time.” Her words sounded right by her sensors. “Goodnight, Labrys.”

“G’night… Phaedra…” She barely managed to get the words out before her eyes fell shut and her consciousness slipped away into slumber.

Phaedra waited as the beautiful spirits of her sisters and her fellow experiment victims swirled past her, waving goodbye as they leapt from the lake and bounded towards the sky. They sang and danced around them, many of them smiling sadly at them as they past and offering what comfort and support they could through their eyes alone.

She could just see Koromaru with his head in a young girl’s lap, eyes shut and blissfully unaware of the darkness that reached out from the corners towards the lake. The moon glimmered and shone, still high in the sky above them, having never moved from its spot to protect them from what lurked in the shadows with its brilliant light. But it was time to go back now. It was time to leave once more.

Slowly, she carefully shifted Labrys around so that she could slip her arms under her knees and lift her up. Walking to the edge of the lake, she gently placed her down with her back against one stalagmite and her side against another, right at the edge of the lake.

A soft whine and a glance behind her showed the young girl had hefted Koromaru up, waking him up ever so slightly in the process and had started making her way towards them. She laid him down beside Labrys, the exhausted, half asleep dog lazily pulling himself half on top of her where she subconsciously held onto him like a giant teddy bear.

Still knelt beside her, Phaedra brushed the hair out of her sleeping sister’s eyes before leaning forward and placing a kiss on her forehead like she’d done oh so long ago now. She smiled as she moved away, her heart lighter than it had been for a while.

“Shall we?” She asked her spirit friend, offering her hand out to her. She smiled back, taking her up on her offer and placing her hand in hers.

“Yeah. Lets go.” Their ghostly plumes radiated at the touch, a kinship deeper than appearances between them and every other spirit that had already returned to the safety of the stars. Without further adieu, the pair returned to the lake.

They ran a little way before leaping into the air, returning to their home alongside the moon before the darkness could ever touch them again…

* * *

Pale light filtered through her eyelids, trying to pull her from her sleep with its warm glow. She shifted to hide from it, only for her face to catch rather uncomfortably against the rough surface of whatever it was she was resting against. Blinking her eyes open slightly to see what it was, it took a few moments to process what exactly she was looking at.

Where…?

Labrys opened her eyes fully as realisation hit her like a tidal wave. They were outside. No, no, they were _inside._ Inside the cavern with the lake.

Rubbing her eyes with one hand rather redundantly, she turned to look at the surface of the lake, now much softer in its brightness in the warm glow of the rising sun. What time was it…?

Glancing down at the warmth on her stomach, she smiled at Koromaru as he slept peacefully. She wouldn’t mind trying to fall back asleep for a little bit herself…

The thought of Mitsuru telling her not to stay out all night suddenly entering her mind very quickly shot that idea down.

Gently, Labrys ran her fingers through Koromaru’s soft fur and lightly scratched behind his ears. His tail slowly wagged a little as the attention roused him from his sleep. He whined a little as he rubbed his head against her hand and she smiled.

“Hey, Koro-chan? Wakey, wakey.” She spoke quietly, his crimson eyes opening in response and his tail wagging a little bit more. “Heehee, mornin’ Koro-chan!” He barked to return the greeting, quickly waking up fully.

“Arf, arf!” She smiled and nodded.

“Sure did. Best nap I’ve had in a long while.” Her gaze drifted to the ceiling where the light of day only got brighter the longer they stayed here. “Aw, never mind that though. We gotta get back before Mitsuru-san and the others wake up.” Koromaru looked up at the ceiling as well before his ears perked and he jumped to his paws. Labrys got up a little slower, mind still strangely fogged with sleep. How deep had she been asleep anyway…?

“Arf! Arf!”

“Yeah, let’s go.” With that, they raced back through the tunnel and back towards the house, the memory of the night before lifting their spirits in the face of one of Mitsuru’s infamous executions.

* * *

“Yukari-san? Have you seen my sister today?” Aigis asked as she rounded the corner into the living room where Yukari sat in one of the armchairs.

“Hm? Uh… no, I haven’t seen her since last night. Didn’t she go to bed at the same time as us?” Her head tilted as she sipped on her hot chocolate.

“She did, only I woke up this morning without her and you know how she can be with mornings when her mind is busy all night.” Her brow furrowed worriedly as Junpei came blundering in from the stairs and Mitsuru quietly slipped into the room from the kitchen, a new steaming mug of hot chocolate in her hand.

“Mornin’. What’s up?” Junpei asked with a huge, drawn out yawn, stretching his arms high over his head.

“My sister is gone.” He immediately woke up a bit more at that.

“Gone? What do you mean gone?”

“She wasn’t with you when you woke up?” Mitsuru’s eyes widened a little in surprise. Aigis shook her head.

“Hey, you know I passed Ken in the hallway earlier and he said he couldn’t find Koromaru either. Maybe they’re together? Like… on a walk or somthin’?” Junpei smiled, offering his reassurance with an easy explanation for this.

“Maybe…” Aigis trailed, “this is rather unlike her though…”

“Hey, you don’t think…” The three turned to give Yukari a questioning look as she paused thoughtfully. “You don’t think she’s gone looking for that lake do you? She _did_ seem pretty invested in that story…” Mitsuru moved as if to say something but before she could, the front door suddenly flew open, their two missing friends tumbling into the house.

“Sister?!” Aigis wasted no time greeting her disappearing sister. The duo froze at the sight of them.

“Where have you two been?” Junpei narrowed his eyes. “And why the hell are you all wet?”

“W-wet?” Labrys blinked owlishly before clearly remembering something, “O-oh! Right! You won’t _believe_ what we did!” An excitement seemed to come from somewhere to override the likely fear of an execution as she beamed at them. “We found the lake! And we saw the spirits and they were-”

“You went looking for the lake?” Yukari cut her off. “Seriously?” She nodded vigorously as Koromaru barked his agreement.

“Yup! And we found it! It was in this underground cavern thing and-”

“Aw, come on. There’s no _way_ you found it.” Labrys blinked again at Junpei’s shake of the head.

“Wh-what? But we did!”

 _“Sure_ you did. Sorry, but I ain’t buying that.” He threw up his hands dismissively.

“Yeah, sorry Labrys. We tried for three years in a row, I just can’t believe it.” Yukari shook her head, the duo visibly deflating a little at it all.

“Sis?” Labrys turned to Aigis hopefully, who smiled softly in response.

“I believe you sister.”

“Ya do?”

“Of course! Whilst I’m not sure if this lake exists, you certainly found something.” Labrys huffed at that, Koromaru seeming just as disappointed at her words.

“Have you both been out all night?” Mitsuru interrupted as she sipped her drink.

“Uhh…” The two tensed at that, “n-not intentionally… We um, we fell asleep by the lake…” Mitsuru hummed at that, an unreadable expression on her face that put everyone else in the room on edge.

“I see.” She spoke after a moment before approaching from the kitchen doorway. “You both must be tired then.” When the others couldn’t see her face, she flashed a knowing smile to them. “Why don’t the two of you head up to bed? I’m sure a few hours rest will help you both immensely.”

“H-huh?” Labrys’ head tilted in confusion. “Ya ain’t mad?” Mitsuru didn’t answer them, instead waving her hand towards the coat rack by the door.

“You’d best be going if you want to join us again later on today.”

“Mitsuru-senpai…? Everything okay?” Yukari asked warily, earning herself an innocent smile.

“Of course. I’m just concerned that they’ll be too tired to join in with today’s activities if they were out _all_ night.” She turned back to the pair of them, now with a much more stern gleam in her eyes.

“R-right! Thanks, Mitsuru-san. We’re still pretty tired, ain’t we Koro-chan?” Labrys jumped in before they could be reprimanded for anything, hanging up her coat and scarf as she did so. Koromaru gave a tired bark, following her up the stairs with a goodnight thrown over their shoulders.

Mitsuru smiled as her eyes drifted to the window for a moment, the first snowflakes of the season gleaming in the sunlight like the stars she remembered from long ago.

Upstairs, Labrys passed by the window at just the right moment to see them herself. She watched in amazement for a few moments before a nudge from Koromaru made her turn away-

Her face snapped back to the window. After a moment, she smiled peacefully, deciding that it didn’t matter whether the silvery green and ruby red starlight she’d caught in the corner of her eye was real or not.

Last night was real, and that was all that mattered to her…

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! This was a fun thing to write in a few days ^-^


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